Method and means for producing insulating sleeves



April 30, 1929.

v. B. PIKE ET AL 1,710,787

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRODUCING INSULATING SLEEVES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed July 1925 INVENTORS V3. fi'keuf I? ztsvJb/m April 30, 1929.

.V. B. PIKE ET AL METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRODUCING INSULATING SLEEVES Original Filed July 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TORS Vfllike WE St. Jolm/ April 30, 1929. v. B. PIKE ET AL METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRODUCING INSULATING SLEEVES Original Filed July 2, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet. 3

til, $5. ir? -blli.

I N V EN TORS '7- 5 7713. Bike m: 51:. Jalm,

. K A TTORNEY Patented Apr. 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VERNON BENDER PIKE, or onELrENHAM, PENNSYLVANIA, AND EVERETT ST. JOHN,

OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELE- GRAPH COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRODUCING INSULATING SLEEVES.

Original application filed July 2, 1925, Serial No. 41,227. Divided and an, application filed September 22, 1926.

This invention relates to a method and means for producing sleeves used for insulating electrical conductors, the said metln od and means being characterizedby the impregnation of a slceving or tubing formed of cotton or other suitable material to render it moisture proot', expanding the sleeving into cylindrical form and cutting it into sections of desired length.

In the splicing of electrical conductors, particularly those used in telephone cables, which are of relatively fine Wire insulated with paper, it is customary to insulate the bare section of twisted wire by means of a sleeve or tube of cotton. The sleeve employed for this purpose is usually about three inches long and the method heretofore employed for preparing such tube is as follows: In order to drive oil the moisture that the cotton in its natural state has absorbed, and also to prevent the absorption of moisture utter the sleeve has been employed in the splicing oi a cable, the cotton sleeving is impregnated by dipping it into melted parafiin at a fairly high temperature, the sleeving being kept in the parafiin until all moisture has been driven from the sleeving and thorough impregnation has taken place. The length of the slceving impregnated at any one time depends upon various factors such as the :iuuuber ot' conductors to be spliced and the rate ot splicing. After the sleeving has cooled it is cut into sections of desired length, by the splicers helper. These sections, which are in a flattened condition andv not unlike in appearance a piece of cotton tape must be punched in order to render them substam tially cylindrical, thereby making them readily usable by the splicer. For this purpose the helper employs a cotton sleeve punch which, when inserted into the tubing expands it. thus forming a cylindrical tube of such diameter as will permit it to slip readily over the twisted joint to be insulated thereby.

Usually this preliminary Work on the slecvin done by the splicers helper during the time when he must remain on the street to guard the open manhole in which the spliccr is Working. \Vhere local conditions are such that the helper can assist the splicer in a manhole a considerable saving in labor cost may be effected if the sleeving is im- Serial No. 137,083.

pregnated, cut, and punched at some central point, and is thus furnished to the splicer on each job. By so doing, the helpers services may be employed more directly in the making of the splice.

In the copcnding application of Reed and ODcll, Serial No. 40,615, filed June 30, 1925, is disclosed a machine for the automatic production of cotton sleeves of any desired length, impregnated with paraflin or other material to render them moisture proof, and

cylindrically expanded to the desired diameter.

One of the objects of the present invention which is an improvement upon that disclosed in the said application of Reed and ODell is to provide an arrangement whereby the pressure of the grooved rollers upon the cotton slecving as it passes over the S shaped man drcl may be readily controlled. Another object of this invention is to provide better lateral support for the S-shaped mandrel whereby it may be held more securely in the desired position. A further object of the invention is to render the rollers more readily accessible in order to facilitate the placing of the mandrels thereon, or for removing the said rollers from the machine. Another object of this invention resides in an improved type of guide bymeans of which the slee'ving is kept sulnnerged in the impregnating liquid. A. further object of this invention resides inan improved type of cutting device for sectionalizing cotton sleevin Other objects of this invention will )e apparent tron: the'l ollou'ing description when read in connection with the attached drawing, of which Figure l is a plan view of the machine embodying our invention; Fig. 2 is a side View of the machine drawn to the same scale as Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view upon slightly larger scale of the machine from the right hand end of Fig. 2: Fig. 4 is a view of the central portion of Fig. 1 upon an enlarged scale in order to bring out the details of the expanding and cutting mechanisms; and Fig. 5 is a similarly enlarged view of the midsection of Fig. 2. v y

In Fig. 1, the tank 1 at t-heleft hand end at the desired temperature by any source of heat, such as a gas flame. For the purpose of illustrating and describing the invention it will be assumed that the sleeving to be impregnated is wound upon spools. Accordingly, at the left hand end of the tank a supporting member 2 is affixed to the end wall of the tank, the purpose of which is to support the spool-holding devices. \Vhile only two of these devices are shownin the figure, the number may be varied, dependng upon the number of punching-mandrels and cutting devices with which the machine is equipped. The spoohholding device, which is shown more clearly in Fig. comprises two telescopic tubes 3 and 4-, tube t fitting into tube 3. The tube 3 is mounted upon a base 5 and the tube 4; is similarly mounted upon the base 6. The spring 7, of which only the ends are shown is, in reality, continuous throughout the tubes, and the ends are connected effectively with the tubes at the end members 5 and 6. It will thus be seen that the spring tends to pull together the members 5 and 6. the tube l moving downward within the tube 3. Connected with the outer end of the member 6 is a conical support 8 which is rotatably mounted upon the member 6, the friction of rotation being reduced by means of a ball bearing. A similar support 9 is mounted upon the member 5. A spool of cotton sleeving may be readily inserted in the supporting device by lifting the upper member 6 and inserting the conical supports 8 and 9 in the holes in the ends of the spool. The member 6, when released, will be drawn by the spring 7 toward the member 5, and the spool will be firmly held within the conical supports 8 and 9, but adapted to rotate readily thereon. In the event of the sleeving being impregnated, and cut into sleeves at the factory where the sleeving is manufactured, it would normally be supplied to the impregnating machine from cans or other similar containers into which the sleevin g falls from the braiding machine. Under such condition a spool-holding device would of course, be unnecessary inasmuch as the sleeving would pass directly from the said cans or similar container to the impregnating tank,

Rotatably mounted upon the bottom of the tank 1 are the inverted conical guides 10 and 11 by means of which the cotton sleeving (indicated by dot and dash lines) may be led from the spool through the impregnating liquid within the tank 1, and thence to the end of one of a plurality of mandrels such as 12. If the liquid within the tank 1 is kept at level below the upper side of the conical guides 10 and 11 (as, for example, the level represented by the dot and dash line it will be possible to place the cotton sleeving under the guides without coming in contact with the impregnating liquid. This feature is of importance Whenever it is necessary to place a new spool of sleeving upon the machine or when a defeet on, the sleeving necessitates a stoppage of the machine and an adjustment olf the sleeving. In doing so, the sleeving extended from the spool. to the guide 11, thence backwards to guide 10, and thence upward to the lower end of the mandrel 12. As soon asthc sleeving is put under tension it will. tend to pull downwards on the guides, thus bringing it below the level of the impregnating liquid.

The punching mechanism compr' as one or more Sshaped mandrels which lie within the grooves of a plurality of rollers which court so as to hold the mandrels securely in posi tion and at the same time to force the sleeving over the said mandrcls. As will be seen clearly in l igs. 2 and 5, two of the rollers 1-11; and 15 are in vertical alignment. A third roller 16 is in horizontal ali nment with the roller 14 and a fourth roller 1? is in similar alignment with roller 15. Roller 1 17 is connected with a shaft to which is also connected the driving pulley 18, and a sprocket wheel 19 (see Fig. 1) by means of which the cutting mechanism is operated. The roller 15, which. is supported by suitable bearing is geared to the roller 14: to which also the roller 16 geared. The roller 17 geared to the roller 15. Rollers 16 and 17 are each su 'iported by members which are hinged at the points ill) and 21 respectively. The hinged supporting members ll and 4:2, by which the rollers ill; and 17 are carried, are held together by means of a spring 22, the tension upon which is such as to maintain the desired pr sure between the rollers. As will be seen clearly from Fig 1 and 4, the grooves of each of the rollers are knurled, which enables them to lirmly grip the cotton sleeving to force it over the mandrels' lying in the said grooves. The rollers are readily removable from t eir shafts, so that rollers having other sizes oil grooves may be put in position. i

The cutting mechanism comprises two blades which may be seen clearly in Figs. :5, 4- and One of these blades Q-jl; is lined and the other blade is movable vertically within the guides 26. The blade 2-1; has lherein a single hole opposite the end of each mandrel and in close juxtaposition to the said end. The n'iovable blade 325 has therein two holes for each mandrel so arranged that when the blade is in either position, visa, at the bottom or at the top of its stroke (as will later be described) a hole in the said movable blade will always be opposite the hole in the fixed blade. The punched slceving, which is i suing from the mandrel at auni'torm rate, will pass through the holes in the fixed and the n1ovable blades and will be cut by the sharp edge oi the corresponding hole in the movable blades 2s the latter movcs upwards or downwards. The blade 25, as will be seen clcarlv from liig. 5, is detachablv connected with it member 27, which carries two rollers and 29 with which enacts the cam 30. This cam llll Fifi

is carried by a shaft 31 to which the sprocket wheel 32 is attached. This sprocket is connected with the sprocket 19 by means of the chain 33. The rotation of the pulley 18 not only operates the rollers of the punching mechanism but also operates the cutting mechanism through the medium of the sprocket wheels 19 and 32 connected by the chain As the shaft 31 rotates in clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5, the cam 30 moves into contact with the upper roller 28 (as the figure shows) and forces the member 27 upwards, which, in turn, raises the movable blade so that the lower holes in this blade coincide with the holes in the tired blade. \Vith the blades in this position, the cotton sleeving, being forced over the mandrel 12, will pass through the hole in the blades opposite the end of the said mandrel. As soon as the shaft 31 is rotated sulliciently to bring the eccentric part of the cam 30 in contact with the roller 29, the member 27 will be pulled down. This pulls down the blade 25 and thus cuts oil a section of the punched cotton tubing which extended through the holes in the said blades, and it brings the upper holes of the movable blade in line with the holes in the fixed blades, thus making ready for the next sleeve from each mandrel. The shaft 31 also carries a sprocket wheel list which is connected by the chain 35 with a similar wheel 36 which serves to rotate the roller 37. A belt conveyor 38, supported by rollers 37 and 39 serves to carry away the sections of cotton sleeving from the cutting mechanism. It is desirable to make the conveying system, which may comprise a plurality of belts, of such length that the cotton sleeves will be sufiiciently cooled at the. end of the conveyer to be placed in packages with a minimum chance of distorting their shape.

It will be seen that by means of a machine of the type herein disclosed, one or more spools of cotton steering may be readily insorted in their supporting devices and the slccving may be fed therefrom with a. minimum of friction, or, as stated before, the slceving may be fed directly from cans or other containers in which it is loosely held. The sleeving may be readily threaded through the guides of the impregnating tank with a minimum of ditliculty and of possible injury to the operator. Furthermore, the sleeving may be more readily controlled in the course. of its passage over the S-shaped manrlrels by means of the spring-controlled device which holds together the lateral rollers. This serves not only to prevent lateral displacement of the S-shaped mandrel butalso serves to maintain the proper pressure upon the cotton sleeving in order to propel it over the mandrel at the desired speed and to make complete contact with the knurled grooves. The invention furthermore reduces the probability of closing the ends of the sleeves at the time of cutting, which beneficial result is obtained not only by means of the type of cutter employed but also b virtue of its being placed closed to the en s of the mandrels.

While this invention has been disclosed as embodied in a particular form and arrangement of parts, it is to be understood that it is capable of embodiment in other and different forms withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Th s application is a division of our copending application, Serial No. 41,227, filed July 2, 1925. a

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with two rollers, the axes of which are parallel, one mounted above the other, of a third roller mounted in the rear of the upper of said two rollers, and a fourth roller mounted in front of the lower of the said two rollers, each of said rollers having a roughened groove therein, the grooves of all of the said rollers lying in substantially the same planeperpendicular to the axes of the rollers, and means to adjust the pressure between the said third and the said upper roller and between the said fourth and the said lower roller.

2. In a machine for producing insulatin sleeves, the combination with two horizontal rollers, one mounted above the other, of a third horizontal roller mounted in the rear of the upper of said two rollers, and a fourth horizontal roller mounted in front of the lower of the said two rollers, each of said rollers having a rou hened groove therein, the grooves of allo the said rollers lying in substantially the same vertical plane perpendicular to the axes of the rollers, an S- shaped mandrel so proportioned as to lie mainly within the grooves of the said rollers and to be supported thereby, and means to adjust the pressure between the said third and the said upper roller, and the said fourth and the said lower roller.

3. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with two rollers each having a groove therein, the axes of the said rollers being substantially horizontal and lying in the same vertical plane, of an S- shaped mandrel lying within the grooves of the said rollers, a third grooved roller, the axis of which is horizontal and lying within the same horizontal plane as the upper of the said two rollers, and a fourth grooved roller whose axis is likewise horizontal and lies in the same horizontal plane as the lower of the said two rollers, the grooves of all of the said rollers lying within the same vertical plane.

4. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with two substantially horizontal rollers rotatably supported, one above the other, of a third horizontal roller, the axis of which is substantially in the same horizontal plane as the axis of the upper of said two rollers, a fourth horizontal roller, the axis of which is substantially in the same horizontal plane as the lower of the said two rollers, each of the group of said rollers having a roughened groove therein, all of which grooves lie substantially in the same vertical plane perpendicular to the axes of the said rollers, and an S-shaped mandrel lying partly within the grooves of each of the said rollers.

5. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with two rollers, the axes of which are substantially parallel, the said rollers being rotatably mounted in close juxtaposition, a thi rd roller rotatablv mounted in close juxtaposition with one of the said two rollers, the axis of the third roller lying outside the plane of the axes of the said first mentioned two rollers, a fourth roller rotatably mounted in close juxtaposition with the other of said two rollers, the axis of the fourth roller lying outside the planeof the axes of the said two rollers and on the opposite side of that plane from the axis of the third roller, each of the said rollers having a roughened groove therein, all of said grooves lying in the same plane, which plane is perpendicular to the axes of the said rollers, and an S-shaped mandrel so proportioned as to conform with and to lie substantially within the grooves of the said two rollers and to be held therein by the grooves of the said third and fourth rollers.

6. In a machine for producing insulating sleeves, the combination with two rollers, the of which are substantially parallel, the said rollers being rotatably mounted in close juxtaposition, a third roller rotatably mounted in close juxtaposition with one of the said two rollers, the axis of the third roller lying); outside the plane of the axes of the said first mentioned two rollers, a fourth roller rotatably mounted in close juxtaposition with the other of said two rollers, the axis of the fourth roller lying outside the plane of the axes of the said two rollers and on the opposite side of that plane from the axis of the third roller, each of the said rollers having: a roughened groove therein. all of said grooves lying in the same plane, which plane is perponilicular to the axes of the said rollers, an S-shaped inandrel so proportioned as to conform with and to lie substantially within the grooves of the said two rollers and to be held therein by the grooves of the said third and fourth rollers, and means to adjust the pressure between the said third roller and its ctr-acting roller and the said fourth roller and its (re-acting roller. In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification this 21st day of September, 1926,

VERNON ll. PIKE.

EVEREJ'TT ST. JOHN. 

